The stay-at-home order was issued, businesses shuttered, or were severely restricted. The traffic dropped in Raleigh below the level it was when I first moved here in 1987. Not that I would know, mind you, since I wasn't going out. But we do back up to a well-used street.
At first, it was kind of a breathless adventure, like waiting for a hurricane. We received our bidet even before the shutdown. Prescient, no? We stocked up on canned goods and pet food, pasta, tuna, rice, popcicles and ice cream, too.
I'm old-ish. Turning 70 this summer, with a few predisposing but controlled health conditions. Jill is on medication that negatively affects her immune system. My very part-time job has no prospect of starting up again soon. She works in a surgery center, assisting surgeons with mainly elective procedures. We both had loads of unexpected time on our hands.
As the days turned to weeks some of us, (Ahem) settled into the slow pace and isolation while and others, (not naming names), had a bit more trouble with it. The yard received careful attention. I bought a new sewing machine and started making masks to give away. The three bird identification books that sit on the kitchen windowsill got a workout. All in all, it was a novelty. Not bad, we congratulated ourselves. But then...
In the OUT THERE, protests began. Unmasked throngs descended on downtown hollering and carrying on. Even though we live right here in the state capital, we witnessed it on screen like everybody else. "Crazy" we agreed. "Do they want to die?"
What happened? Was it the protests against the shutdown? The people carrying guns in the streets of downtown? Was it boredom or short attention spans? Too many people out of work and scared for the future? Maybe it was just the call of summer. Suddenly, people were over it.
LET THE OPENING BEGIN!
Are we there yet? No, assuredly not. All those carefully tracked numbers are rising inexorably. Cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are going up here in NC, across the US, around the world. This ain't over yet, not by a long shot.
So I'm hunkered down. It's hard to make myself answer the phone. I'm getting a lot of writing done and will likely publish two new books this fall. My house isn't much cleaner, I'm having trouble distancing from the fridge, sometimes I stare blankly at the wall wondering what to do next. But I've learned the difference between house sparrows, song sparrows, and chipping sparrows. I've held a lost Carolina Chickadee baby in my hand. I've taken naps and learned new pieces on the piano, put together some puzzles, read lots of books, and listened to sooooo many podcasts.
We're not there yet. Maybe we never will be. But one way or another, life is still good.
